"What? A murder?" Roy asked, looking shocked.
"Yes, In the apartment building across the street. We need to do some work here, so you should go inside- maybe go to the gym for recess, instead." the officer suggested. They realized how lucky they were to have been right next to the elementary school, then. He thought they were just kids from recess...
"Um... right..." Dick put an arm around Scarlet, leading her towards the elementary school. They entered and Dick immediately led them down a hallway, to a door beside the staircase. They slipped out the back.
"A murder?" Wally asked, looking shocked.
"Looks like the third in a string of them." Dick said, working on his wrist computer. "By the looks of things here, there's been three deaths over the past two days... All elderly people, all found with slit throats..."
"The town is going crazy looking for the killer, by the looks of things." Wally said,
hearing the sirens of approaching police cars. Probably to remove the body from the scene...
"Makes sense. It's a small place- people hate living in fear." Roy said. "And they must hate it even more wondering if their neighbors could be the killer."
"So I take it we're investigating, now?" Wally asked, looking at them expectantly.
"Yes. The murders have been happening in a pattern of increasing frequency. One yesterday, and two today, on the sixteenth. One at approximately 3am, twelve hours from the last, and the body just now, six hours from that..."
"Meaning we have three hours to find the killer." Roy said grimly.
"What are you kids doing!?" an angry voice came, and they all turned to find a teacher looking at them sternly.
"Sophie here was feeling sick, I decided we'd take her out to get her some air." Roy said, motioning to Scarlet. Scarlet gave him a glare. Sophie? Really? But she knew how to put on an act when she needed to, and she made herself look shaky and pale.
"Oh- you really shouldn't be out here alone, though..." the woman said, looking concerned.
"My Mama's coming to take me home soon- Robby called her." Scarlet said, looking up at Roy.
Roy grit his teeth. He sounded like a dork, his name wasn't Robby. But, he'd asked for it, calling her Sophie...
"Oh, come wait in the foyer, then." She opened the door wider and they all filed in.
"I haven't seen you around here before..." the teacher said, looking curious.
"We don't go to this school. Well, we just moved here, the school's still getting our paperwork straight, and our Mom, Sophie's aunt, works in the cafeteria, so we have to come to work with her until we're properly enrolled." Roy lied easily, and the woman nodded.
"Oh. I see. Maybe I should wait with you..."
"No, Aunt Jessica lives just around the corner, it'll be fine." Roy promised. The teacher nodded, heading back around the corner.
"Sophie? Really? If all the aliases you could've chosen..." Scarlet whispered, ticked off.
"Hey, I'm not very happy to be Robby either, but you don't see me complaining. Now come on." They slipped upstairs, finding an old library where they wouldn't be noticed and hiding behind the shelf in the back. Scarlet flopped into a bean bag chair, flipping on her own wrist computer.
"Alright- so we need a plan of action. I'm checking the records now, at least three elderly women live in this area..." Scarlet whispered, pulling it up. "And the statistics say they'd be prime targets. The supposed murders will take place in three hours, or at noon, approximately..."
"Three hours. No pressure." Robin said, sighing.
"There's a town map here- let's see. The first body was found in a home on Lake road, reports say." Roy said, making a dot. "So, on the East side of town. Second body is here, on Mill road, so on the West side of town, and the body across the street is HERE, on the North side of town."
"The only section that hasn't been hit is the South side." Wally said, eyes widening. "It must be happening there!"
"That's what the killer wants us to think." Robin said grimly. "It's probably what the police are thinking, too, concentrating the brunt of patrols down there... making the other sections easier to hit."
"I never thought of it that way, but it does make sense." Roy admitted.
"No. The killer COULD be anywhere, with that logic!" Wally protested.
"That's exactly what they want us to think." Scarlet piped up. "I mean, think about it. Someone kills three elderly ladies, all on different sides of town- they won't stop what they're doing, their cold, calculated killers. But by hitting three sides of town, they've left us guessing at where they're going next. The forth side, or returning to the other three? Who knows?"
"Exactly. Come on, Wally, admit it- they're right." Roy said.
"Fine, it's possible... But where do we go from here? If they can hit every direction but South, they could be on either of the three sides..." Wally said, looking frustrated. "We have no idea where to go!"
"Yes we do. The killer will go to the one place that's least expected- the scene of the crime." Sparrow pointed out.
"But which crime? The first, second, or third?" Roy asked, looking interested.
"Any of them. We'll split up. Sparrow, you stay with Roy on the North end- Wally will take the West, and I'll take the East. The cops will be all over the south side." Robin said calmly.
"Are you sure about this, dude?" Wally asked, looking uncertainly at his friend.
"Of course I am. This is a serial killer we're talking about- the only ones crazy enough to return to the scene of the crime."
"What do you mean they're missing?" Bruce demanded. His children had NEVER been missing from school before, and he'd been shocked when he got the call...
"They're lost in the historic battlefield?" he was starting to panic slightly. His children, not only good for ransom, were lost in the middle of a historical battle ground... surrounded by old cannons. If they somehow managed to do something stupid, the whole world would no doubt hear about it... It was easy to get lost. Tons of schools flocked go the battle grounds this season, before it got too cold, but still...
"I want every man you have on this. FIND them- or I will." he said, Daddy Bats coming out. He pulled out his wrist computer, checking their tracking signals. Offline. Now was the time to worry. He arrived at the battlegrounds fifteen minutes later via private jet, finding the police and school officials there.
"Bruce?" he turned, shocked to see Oliver Queen standing beside him.
"They told me Roy was missing..."
"So are Scarlet and Dick. You don't think they're together, do you?"
"I hope so. Roy will have the good sense to stay put and wait for rescue workers..."
"Stay hidden, Scarlet. I don't want them to see you- they might target you then." Roy said. He had his back-up bow with him, and he de-compressed it now, assembling his arrows quickly.
"Quit playing with legos and trust me, Roy." Sparrow said. "Whoever they are, I can handle them."
"You're small. I just don't want you to get hurt. Besides, they're a serial killer..."
"I've dealt with phsyco killers before, Roy- I'll be fine."
There was a whimper, suddenly, and both their eyes widened. Roy shoved Scarlet behind the couch, collecting his arrows and bow before he joined her...
This was the house of the first murder, and they stared when they saw the elderly woman being dragged in. She was bleeding from the head, but her captor, a woman in her twenties with chestnut hair, stood over her, teeth gleaming in the darkness, eyes alight with the thrill of the kill...
"Robin, KF, come in- we have company."